Not only looks like it, it is one.
I find it very comfy, it packs quite a lot (and safely). I am often walking around with most of my kit in it, and the rest in my hand. Those walks often exceed 20 kilometers, and even with my bad back have no problem whatsoever.

Yes, I would recommend it. But: with my kit the bag is packed to capacity, so if you have more gear it probably will not fit...

Not posting much here anymore, but the photo's you can follow here There is plenty there.

Feel free to use any of these additional letters to correct the spelling of words found in the above post: a-e-t-n-d-i-o-s-m-l-u-y-h-c

thanks for posting your complete kit here. I know the info will be very helpful to many members, myself included! The details about DSLR lens equivalents to SLR lenses is especially helpful. The Nikon Coolwalker or similar storage device seems to me a great alternative to carrying a laptop.

thanks for posting your complete kit here. I know the info will be very helpful to many members, myself included! The details about DSLR lens equivalents to SLR lenses is especially helpful. The Nikon Coolwalker or similar storage device seems to me a great alternative to carrying a laptop.

many thanks!! arks

Hi arks,

Most welcome. The Nikon Coolwalker was great to carry along as I can carry it in my side pocket and quickly take it out and download the photos while on the run. And it has a nice LCD screen to watch the photos afterwards as well. However, there are newer models on the market now that might be a better buy (but also more expensive of course).

BUT BE SURE TO TEST THE DOWNLOADING FROM YOUR CF CARD BEFORE YOU GO! My 1 GB card would not let me download to the Nikon Coolwalker (maybe as it was not formatted???), but luckily the 512 MB would. Imagine my scare for a moment there after only 2 days in the park

I must admit that I'm having a bit of a problem with this - after 35 years of using SLRs I'm so used to the "normal" focal lengths that I tend to forget that my 300mm lens is now a 480mm lens. As a result, I have lost a lot of potentially good images due to camera shake

I'm seriously thinking of "downgrading" to a zoom with a maximum focal length of 200mm (320mm on my Canon) to eliminate the problem

Of course I could go for IS, but I'm not sure that my budget will stretch to that at the moment.

I must admit that I'm having a bit of a problem with this - after 35 years of using SLRs I'm so used to the "normal" focal lengths that I tend to forget that my 300mm lens is now a 480mm lens. As a result, I have lost a lot of potentially good images due to camera shake

I'm seriously thinking of "downgrading" to a zoom with a maximum focal length of 200mm (320mm on my Canon) to eliminate the problem

Of course I could go for IS, but I'm not sure that my budget will stretch to that at the moment.

The focal lenght isn't the problem, you handholding the camera is. If you take a picture while handholding the camera you will always introduce camera shake and although IS will help it still isn't a miracle cure for all your camera shake troubles

I use a 300mm f/2.8 with IS and still take 95% of my pics using a beanbag and a remote shutter release. When using this setup you don't have to touch your camera to take a picture and all the pictures will come out sharp, even at shutterspeeds of 1/30 sec.

madach wrote:I use a 300mm f/2.8 with IS and still take 95% of my pics using a beanbag and a remote shutter release. When using this setup you don't have to touch your camera to take a picture and all the pictures will come out sharp, even at shutterspeeds of 1/30 sec.

In addition to the beanbag i always take my tripod with me.
For birding pics at camps and landscaping. Fits nicely in my
suitcase. Always wrap it in a big towel. The towel i use at the
pool again.

On most cameras u find the miror lockup timer. On Canon
u can determine for how long the mirror stays open. This also helps to get your subject real sharp. When the camera records the picturen there is no fibration which occurs when the mirror closes again.Even use it while resting the lens on the beanbag. Mind u, the animal must stand deadstill.

madach wrote:The focal lenght isn't the problem, you handholding the camera is. If you take a picture while handholding the camera you will always introduce camera shake and although IS will help it still isn't a miracle cure for all your camera shake troubles

Thanks Madach

The problem for me is that most of my photography is of subjects moving at 200-300 Km/Hour or faster. In general, I have no camera shake troubles - it's only when I am using the longer focal lengths which I am not used to. I automatically zoom as I am panning and shooting. With a maximum 200mm zoom (effective 320mm) I would be able so stay within my known comfortable range. I would never ewxpect IS to be a miracle cure - it might help, though.

simonb6 wrote:The problem for me is that most of my photography is of subjects moving at 200-300 Km/Hour or faster.

Formula1 or MotoGP racing?

simonb6 wrote:In general, I have no camera shake troubles - it's only when I am using the longer focal lengths which I am not used to. I automatically zoom as I am panning and shooting. With a maximum 200mm zoom (effective 320mm) I would be able so stay within my known comfortable range.

That makes a lot of sense. I'd go for the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS then. For your kind of photography that should be an awesome lens. The IS even has a panning mode which will be of huge value for you.

I must admit that I'm having a bit of a problem with this - after 35 years of using SLRs I'm so used to the "normal" focal lengths that I tend to forget that my 300mm lens is now a 480mm lens. As a result, I have lost a lot of potentially good images due to camera shake :(

I'm seriously thinking of "downgrading" to a zoom with a maximum focal length of 200mm (320mm on my Canon) to eliminate the problem :?

Of course I could go for IS, but I'm not sure that my budget will stretch to that at the moment.

Thanks, Simon!!

This information and discussion is especially helpful to me because I am leaning towards buying the 300D (good prices since release of 350D and choosing the earlier model will allow me more funds for extras). I'll definitely now consider the tradeoffs between a 300mm and a 200mm zoom, another factor being that the 200mm would allow me perhaps a larger low aperture?

@Madach: What's IS?? And thanks for letting me know that f2.8 is obtainable on the 70-200mm. My current zoom is an f2.8 70-210mm and I'm used to having that low light capability (my fixed 50mm lens is f1.8) and it looked like I was going to have to sacrific that. I'm also quite steady with hand-held shots (up to a full minute), but don't have any experience with AF lenses and that may change things?

Thanks to everyone for the extremely helpful imput and discussions here and elsewhere in this forum. It's been a HUGE help to me in deciding what new gear I will be buying!

arks wrote:@Madach: What's IS?? And thanks for letting me know that f2.8 is obtainable on the 70-200mm.

IS = Image Stabilisation. It works the same as the Anti-shake on most video camera's.

Although the 70-200 is available in an f/2.8 version you might want to check the price In Holland a non-IS version is around 1100 euro and the IS version is 1650 euro I bought a mint second hand non-IS version and I love it. One day (soon) I'll sell it and buy the IS version (as soon as I've convinced my SO)

arks wrote:@Madach: What's IS?? And thanks for letting me know that f2.8 is obtainable on the 70-200mm.

IS = Image Stabilisation. It works the same as the Anti-shake on most video camera's.

Although the 70-200 is available in an f/2.8 version you might want to check the price :shock: In Holland a non-IS version is around 1100 euro and the IS version is 1650 euro :( I bought a mint second hand non-IS version and I love it. One day (soon) I'll sell it and buy the IS version (as soon as I've convinced my SO)

Thanks for clarifying. I've had great success with 2nd hand SLRs and lenses, so I'll keep my eyes open for finding one. I haven't really started pricing lenses new as yet, just looking to see what is availalbe for Canon, Sigma and Tamron lenses. Do you think that the Canon lenses are significantly better than Sigma and Tamron? The 70-210mm that I use with my Olympus OM-2S is a Vivitar lens and it's been just fine. Don't even know if the Vivitar company still exists, as I've had the lens for over 15 years!!